This book had me hooked from the beginning. It’s gripping, suspenseful, and atmospheric in all the best ways.

Annie Gore grew up in a small Appalachian town and, after years in the Air Force, became a private investigator. She’s hired by Max, a man from another isolated mountain town in North Carolina, to help solve a cold case involving three missing little girls—one of them his sister. Annie warns him that she might not be able to find anything, that all she might do is stir up trouble asking folks about a decades-old tragedy. Max wants her help anyway.

When Annie arrives, the townspeople are suspicious of her digging around. But she’s sharp, determined, and not easily scared off. As she unearths old rumors, family secrets, grudges, and eerie witch’s tales, the story takes on a haunting, supernatural edge that gives it real bite.

I love any story that weaves in Appalachian folklore, and The Witch’s Orchard does it right. This is a fantastic debut from Archer Sullivan, and I can’t wait to read more from them.

This book and character was so fun I hope that the author turns it into a series.

This was a thriller book it really had a spooky vibe to it that I loved. This would be a perfect fall read with the spooky woods and witch folklore.

This was fast paced and I could not put it down until the very end and the twist 🤯

Everyone in this town feels like a suspect or that it really might be a witch.

Genre: Thriller
APK: Ebook
Pages: 311
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Series or Standalone: Stand-alone

From the get-go this story piqued my interest. I like creepy stories with a supernatural vibe to it. Throw in a returning vet, with a troubled background, trying to make a living, who finds herself in some dying, Appalachian, holler with a tragic past surrounding three missing girls (one returned) and those seriously creepy applehead dolls found where the girls disappeared and I’m hooked.

The book summary introduces the primary storyline of Annie, a former Air Force Investigator and currently a PI, being hired by Max, who is the brother to Molly, a young girl who disappeared 10yrs. Max wants Annie to find Molly. Annie lets Max know that she may not find anything after this long, but Max doesn’t care; he just needs to find out what happened to Molly because he can’t move on until he at least tries to find her. There is also a secondary storyline of something in Annie’s past that has one of her Air Force friends, AJ, calling her everyday just to see if she’s doing ok.

From the get-go, Annie is ruffling feathers all over town, asking people questions about the two missing girls, as well as the one that was returned shortly after taken. She starts digging up old rumors and grudges and attracting a lot of the wrong attention. It’s not long before she becomes a target of someone who doesn’t want her to dig up old history. Then there’s the Quartz Creek legend about an old witch and her apple trees who stole the daughters of a poor woman, and like a lot of old legends, Annie gets a different version of the legend from every person she asks about it. Then Annie meets Susan, an old woman who lives up in the hills, who is rumored to be a witch.

Most of the story revolves around Annie finding out what happened to the girls and who knows anything about it because she is certain that some of the people she has spoken with have secrets that they are hiding and that they know more about the disappearances than they are saying. It’s deep into the second half that the town’s secrets begin to surface, leaving Annie fighting for her life in an intense and scary ending.

The character development for most of the characters was well done. I wish there was more on AJ. The pacing was steady to fast and the storyline interesting; I like stories that are steeped in history and folklore; they add depth and appeal to a storyline. The writing was also well done. I flipped back and forth between the ebook and audiobook on a lazy Sunday for a perfect time to spend on a really good story. I’m looking at an overall rating of 4.2 that I will be rounding down to a 4star review. I want to thank NetGalley and St Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #StMartinsPress #MacmillanAudio #WitchesOrchard

This novel was packed with suspense and mystery throughout the whole story. This story follows a PI named Annie that took a job in a small town involving the disappearance of three young girls but one was returned shortly after being taken. She is hired by the brother of one of the missing girls for a final push in finding his sister after 10 years. With any small town, there is a lot of gossip and a folklore that tends to change as it's passed down by generations. I really enjoyed how we got a background of the main character that tied into the case she was working on and gave you a better understanding of how she became who she is and how she got the position she is in. I thought I predicted the ending but I definitely was surprised to find it was the opposite of my predictions. I couldn't put down the book once I got into the story more, I felt like I had to keep looking for more clues with the PI and get to the bottom of the truth.

This was my first book by Archer Sullivan but it won't be my last. I was entranced in the story right from the beginning. Deep in the Appalachian woods three girls went missing a decade ago. Now the sibling of the last girl taken has hired PI Annie Gore to try and solved the still open mystery of his sisters disappearance.

I loved Annie's character. She's a little rough around the edges but that makes her all the more relatable. Her drive and determination were admirable. And the atmosphere was on point. The author perfectly captures that rural, small town, suspicious vibe. As a reader you felt invested in the story. I think one of my favorite aspects was all the different versions of the folklore surrounding the Quartz Creek Witch story. Sullivan managed to create such unique minute changes that tie in with each tellers own personal experiences. Which lends itself to the proof of how one simple thing can have so many perspectives.

This was a wild ride of a story that kept you constantly evaluating who the suspect might be. It was hard to believe it was a debut effort. I hope this turns into a series which future stories about Annie.

TW: kidnapping, captivity, shooting, suicide, loss of parent, loss of sibling, loss of child, poison

Annie Gore escaped a small Appalachian town by joining the military and becoming an elite investigator, now turned PI. When a young man comes to her to beg that she investigate the disappearance of his sister ten years prior, Annie recognizes this mountain town, not because she has been there, but because all mountain towns share some of the same traits. Ten years ago, a little girl disappeared, a month later, another was taken and quickly returned, before a third girl was taken. Investigating a case that is ten years cold has its challenges, but threading throughout all accounts is the tale of the Witch and her two daughters. How is this related to the case? Or is it?

Disclaimer: I am not particularly fond of mysteries or thrillers. I typically find them to be formulaic and obvious. This was not. I had my suspicions, as all readers will, but I was constantly guessing.

The writing is atmospheric and lyrical without being flowery. The vibe made me want to curl up in a bay window and read with a mug of tea while it rains outside.

Several people in my book club love thrillers, and I may suggest (and vote) for this because I would love to read it with a group and discuss it!

Thank you to Net Galley, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Loved! Such a quick, fun read. Part police procedural, part rural folk horror.

PI Annie Gore is hired to look into a 10 year old cold case of three missing little girls in the Appalachians. While digging and asking questions, she unearths more than she bargained for. She learns the history of the Quartz Creek Witch and all the different versions of the same story.

Witches, small mountain town secrets and generational trauma make this book a non stop roller coaster of emotion.

Archer Sullivan's “The Witch’s Orchard” is an atmospheric, slow-burn mystery that pulls readers deep into the heart of the Appalachian mountains. The story follows Annie Gore, a tough private investigator with a complicated past, who finds herself investigating a decade-old disappearance.

Sullivan creates a quiet story with many secrets, that feels haunted and intimate. As a character, Annie feels real. She is capable, full of grit, and a bit damaged. She tries to navigate her way through a community steeped in silence and grief, which lends emotional weight to the narrative. The plot blends mystery and folklore in a balanced way that makes the story feel grounded and tense.

“The Witch’s Orchard” is more about atmosphere and slow reveals than fast-paced action. With its layered characters, moody setting, and thoughtful storytelling, the is a book readers can settle into up to the final page.

This is the perfect blend of witchy and mystery! A beautiful tale that made me itch to pick up my book again and again! The most perfect book for an autumn chilly read!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!!

This story follows the journey of Private Investigator Annie Gore as she tries to find answers to a 10 year old missing person case.

Set in a small Appalachian town that’s shrouded in secrets and folklore made this wonderfully atmospheric. Backed by a solid mystery with a good balance of characters and plot, this suspenseful story was exactly what I wanted in a mystery right now. It was also made better by the excellent narration that matched the vibes of the book perfectly,

Thank you Minotaur books for sending a widget for this!

Thanks to Minotaur Books for the gifted copy!

I wanted to read this one for a witch week potential because it’s not often that you find a book that crosses mystery and witchy vibes. I enjoyed the folklore in this story that added to the mystery of the missing girls. It was a little bit too slow burn for my personal taste, but I think that this will be a winner in general for people who love small town Appalachian mysteries.

Have you ever started an audiobook that immediately had you drawn in, to the extent that when you can’t listen to it you think about the next time you’ll be able to? That happened to me with this one. This book wasn’t an edge of your seat non-stop thrill ride by any means, but it was a perfectly paced investigation into missing children and the people inhabiting their small Appalachian town. As someone who grew up in the Appalachian mountains I’ve recently really gotten into Appalachian themed thrillers and horror and this book is a shining example of what I love in a story. This is absolutely going on my top books of 2025 list!

The Witch’s Orchard by Archer Sullivan had me hooked from the very first page. The story blends eerie folklore with a deeply emotional journey, creating a haunting atmosphere that stayed with me long after I put the book down. Sullivan’s writing is both vivid and precise, making the orchard feel like a character itself.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

I’ve never read anything by Archer Sullivan before, but this brooding mystery inflected with Appalachian folklore has ensured that I’ll be catching up, and looking ahead. In Annie, she has created a female lead who is strong, intelligent, quietly impressive, and wounded. She had excelled in covert operations during a recently-finished and very traumatic military stint. That trauma, on top of that of a childhood marked by loss, remain with her as she attempts to use her skills in civilian life by working as a private investigator.

Reluctant to return to the spaces of her childhood, Annie takes on a cold case involving the disappearance, virtually into thin air, of three little girls. One had been returned to her parents, unharmed, after a few days, and another was taken. But the returned child is autistic and non-verbal and no one expected any information from her. Annie is prevailed upon to take on the case by the deeply tormented brother of the first victim, who believes his sister might be alive. No bodies or even personal effects were ever found. While some blame the local police for giving up too soon, others point to the dark powers historically associated with the community.

Because of her past, which the author only reveals very slowly, Annie is already enmeshed as she begins an investigation that few seem to want any more than she does. In a town where most are predisposed to close her out, even violently, there are times when her only sustenance and solace come from running and the sage advice of the mysterious Gabriel, who phones occasionally and seems strangely in tune with how she feels.

For each of the missing girls, an apple head doll was left in her place. Was this meant to be a warning, a foreboding, a clue of other-worldly involvement? The dolls are an important element of the story. An ancient form of toy-making, the dolls demonstrate the ability of poor mountain women to make use of whatever materials they had at hand to craft the goods they could not buy. They had long been the only doll poor little girls had, and the methods for making them were passed down through generations. There was something sinister about them too. The shrunken apple heads and corn husk bodies were not exactly cute and cuddly, with a creepiness bordering on witchcraft. But as mass produced dolls slowly replaced them, outsiders’ cherished them as examples of historic local handwork. When they pop up in the narrative, however, they are not ‘cute’ and innocuous but speak to the sometimes scary ways of the ´wisewomen’ of the past. I was so caught up in the spooky elements that I was actually shocked when Annie finds the answers that had eluded everyone.

History, family, mountain lore, and memory both true and false shape Annie’s attempts to figure out the story without losing herself to her own unnamed terrors. Sullivan does an amazing job of revealing pieces of Annie’s life as they become necessary to her story. Her writing is lucid and atmospheric, and she allows Annie to face the things that had held her back from her own fulfillment, especially love.

Girls are being traded for apple head dolls in a small mountain town, and a young man who has recently come of age hires PI Annie Gore to find his sister who was taken many years ago. Annie is also from the mountains and knows how to talk to the people involved in the case. From preacher's wives to bakery owners, the local witch to a rich man's widow, Annie investigates them all in pursuit of the truth. She discovers an insular town, broken apart by their unique tragedies, as well as the pervasive tragedies of drug addiction, poverty, and limited opportunity. I hope to read another Annie Gore book soon, filled with the same atmosphere and sense of place contained within this story.

Just wanted to finish this one to get answers. Loved the setting, enjoyed getting to know most of characters, a non-traditional villain, and a bad ass MC.

Thank you to @St.martinsPress and Netgalley for my #gifted copy.

In the Application mountains girls have gone missing. Annie is hired on to find them, by the brother of one of the girls. A palpable atmosphere pulled me in and wouldn't let me go. Folklore, mystery, missing girls, and a little splash of romance. Annies's character is tough, intelligent, and oh so like able and relatable. As former military, she was great senses and made moves that had me on the edge of the seat waiting for her to find answers. She just gave you that sense even though she doesn't promise answers, she will find where these girls went. The woods and town members have you on edge with the secrets they held, and you want so badly to know. The answers you get, I hadn't suspected at all. I couldn't believe this was a debut book! I'm really looking forward to this series and more of Annie!

4.5**

The Witch's Orchard had me up late into the night reading page after page! It was hard to put down. Annie is such a great character and I hope we get to hear more from her. The setting in the hills of NC is both idyllic and hauntingly chilling. This is one spooky scary ride and I was here for all of it! And that ending... well I did not see that coming at all. Highly recommend!

Gripped me from the start and didn't let go until the epilogue. It was refreshing to read about a protagonist from the hills of Appalachia. Plenty of action and constant whodunit twists. You won't be disappointed in this one!

Thank you so much to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for my ARC!

I received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. This was absolutely incredible and I can’t get over the fact that it was a debut novel! I fell in love with Annie from the very beginning and was instantly sucked into this small town’s horrors. I would love to see this made into a movie and can’t wait to see what Sullivan writes next!